I was a little surprised by the results only in that I thought it would be Bishop Hiltz and Bishop Matthews in the end but I thought she would be elected. I don't know him but I've always been really impressed by her. My friends from the East speak very highly of Bishop Hiltz and I have friends in Edmonton who will be very relieved not to lose their much loved bishop.
Bishop Fred Hiltz elected Anglican Primate
Winnipeg, June 22, 2007 -- The Anglican Church of Canada has chosen Bishop Fred Hitz of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as its 13th Primate or national leader.Bishop Hiltz was elected by the church's General Synod, meeting in Winnipeg, on the 5th ballot, from among four bishops nominated last April by a gathering of all Canadian bishops.
Bishop Hiltz, 53, will succeed Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, elected three years ago, who announced earlier that he would retire at the end of the General Synod gathering now underway.
Bishop Hiltz was elected assistant bishop of the diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in 1995 and elected diocesan bishop in 2002. He was a member of the Council of General Synod from 2001 to 2004 and, since, 2006, has served as the Anglican Co-Chair of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission.
In a statement after his nomination for the primacy, Bishop Hiltz described the Primate as "a servant of the people of God (whose) ministry is the gather the Church, to unite its members in a holy fellowship of truth and love, and to inspire them in the service of Christ's mission in the world."
He is married to Lynne Samways and they have one son.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Bible Study
I've been reading reports from General Synod taking place this week in Winnipeg. I'd love to be in Winnipeg visiting friends but I'm glad I'm not at the meetings. I really don't enjoy meetings unless they are very action oriented and short. These kinds of meetings bring out every ADD cell in my body.
It is much more satisfying to spend my time like I did last night. We had our last Revelation bible study and while most of them still aren't so keen on the book we did have a really interesting discussion. I had read Barbara Rossing's excellent book The Rapture Exposed and she convinced me that the fundamental message of the book is one of hope but my parishioners remain unconvinced. The thing is that they are such kind, gentle people that they can't really believe God can be wrathful.
It is hard to do justice to the Book of Revelation in three sessions but on the other hand I didn't want us to get lost in it either. Not with summer coming on. It took us two years to do our study of Mark. I learned a lot from that but it is a long time to do one thing. In the fall we are going to do some study of the Torah which should be interesting. Like many Anglicans they have a better knowledge and appreciation of the New Testament than the Old Testament.
I'm looking forward to preaching on some of the challenging texts of the Torah in our Unchurch service in the fall. My friend Becky and I are doing some planning for the service and I'm getting really excited about it. Here is the blurb she wrote to explain who we are and what we are doing:
It is much more satisfying to spend my time like I did last night. We had our last Revelation bible study and while most of them still aren't so keen on the book we did have a really interesting discussion. I had read Barbara Rossing's excellent book The Rapture Exposed and she convinced me that the fundamental message of the book is one of hope but my parishioners remain unconvinced. The thing is that they are such kind, gentle people that they can't really believe God can be wrathful.
It is hard to do justice to the Book of Revelation in three sessions but on the other hand I didn't want us to get lost in it either. Not with summer coming on. It took us two years to do our study of Mark. I learned a lot from that but it is a long time to do one thing. In the fall we are going to do some study of the Torah which should be interesting. Like many Anglicans they have a better knowledge and appreciation of the New Testament than the Old Testament.
I'm looking forward to preaching on some of the challenging texts of the Torah in our Unchurch service in the fall. My friend Becky and I are doing some planning for the service and I'm getting really excited about it. Here is the blurb she wrote to explain who we are and what we are doing:
We are a community of people who wonder who Jesus Christ is for us today. Some of us are Christians and are active members of Christian churches. Some of us are not Christian, but continue to find merit in wondering what value Jesus’ message and life have for us and our world. We meet weekly for study and discussion led by those steeped in the Christian tradition, but the aim is neither to push people towards faith nor away from faith. Our goals are explicitly spiritual: what beliefs and actions will increase our love towards others, peace within ourselves, and peace for the world? We are inclusive: if you share these goals you are welcome here. We also believe that our learning occurs not only through thought but also experience and so worship and the worship arts will also be present in our community.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Back Home
I spent my study leave in my favourite place in south Saskatchewan - a little piece of paradise. It was great to be able to read and think and write without easy access to my email and with my cell phone turned off. The local Co-Op brings in cilantro now and there is a really nice coffee place that makes a good latte so it is no hardship to be there. I rent a cottage from a super guy and we had some great conversations over some delicious meals. I've met some really interesting people through him too and had a chance to see some this trip. A friend of mine drove out for a couple of days and that was really great and of course I checked in with friends a bit via email and the aforementioned cell phone. Mostly though I feel quite cut off there - tv is limited and I didn't see a newspaper for two weeks.
Now I'm back to the reality of my van being in the shop again and an incredibly messy house - reality is crushing in again!
One thing I was really happy about though was being able to go to the movie rental place to pick up some more episodes of Battlestar Galactica. I'm hooked. I watched it in the '70s when it was fun but cheesy. Now it is really very dark with lots of sex and violence. Little kids watched it when I was a kid. Now it is hot enough that it set off the cottage's dvd player's parental controls.
It started out as essentially cowboys and indians in space. The bad guys were the cylons, robots invented by humans to do their grunt work. The cylons eventually rebelled and became the classic 20th century enemy - the faceless, emotionless horde that threatened to take over because when you killed one another just stepped forward to take its place. Maybe it was a metaphor for a time of war with an enemy that never seemed to give up and never seemed to diminish. Or maybe it was a way of talking about the dangers of the emerging technology - a kind of more popular (and much more enjoyable) version of 2001 a space odyssey.
In the new version the cylons have developed the ability to adopt human form so the war now is with the enemy within. They still fight cylons in space but the real threat is the cylons living next to them. A show about war has become a show about terrorism. Certainly this reflects the age we now live in.
Now I'm back to the reality of my van being in the shop again and an incredibly messy house - reality is crushing in again!
One thing I was really happy about though was being able to go to the movie rental place to pick up some more episodes of Battlestar Galactica. I'm hooked. I watched it in the '70s when it was fun but cheesy. Now it is really very dark with lots of sex and violence. Little kids watched it when I was a kid. Now it is hot enough that it set off the cottage's dvd player's parental controls.
It started out as essentially cowboys and indians in space. The bad guys were the cylons, robots invented by humans to do their grunt work. The cylons eventually rebelled and became the classic 20th century enemy - the faceless, emotionless horde that threatened to take over because when you killed one another just stepped forward to take its place. Maybe it was a metaphor for a time of war with an enemy that never seemed to give up and never seemed to diminish. Or maybe it was a way of talking about the dangers of the emerging technology - a kind of more popular (and much more enjoyable) version of 2001 a space odyssey.
In the new version the cylons have developed the ability to adopt human form so the war now is with the enemy within. They still fight cylons in space but the real threat is the cylons living next to them. A show about war has become a show about terrorism. Certainly this reflects the age we now live in.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Evening Reading
I've been spending evenings watching some wild movies and reading some great books. The other evening I read Annie Dillard's The Writing Life. I love her books - they have such an interesting rhythm. She writes:
Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case. What would you begin writing if you knew you would die soon? What could you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?
Barbara Brown Taylor said something similar at our clergy conference a few years ago. She said you should always preach with the idea that someone in the congregation has less than six months to live and you don't want to waste their time.
One of the films I've watched this week is Y tu mamá también . I don't know if I knew that I had only a short while to live that I would want to go on a road trip with two sex crazed teenagers and try to teach them how to be better lovers but it was an interesting movie. Okay, so I'm stretching for a connection here. But the film is worth seeing if you can handle the sex and language (I give this warning because I got blasted once for recommending a movie in a sermon and not clarifying that it had rough language).
Don't know what I'll watch tonight. It is summer time and I haven't watched the Godfather trilogy yet. It is usually my ritual to welcome summer. That and Mr. Baseball, Field of Dreams, and Bull Durham. I'll let you know.
Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case. What would you begin writing if you knew you would die soon? What could you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?
Barbara Brown Taylor said something similar at our clergy conference a few years ago. She said you should always preach with the idea that someone in the congregation has less than six months to live and you don't want to waste their time.
One of the films I've watched this week is Y tu mamá también . I don't know if I knew that I had only a short while to live that I would want to go on a road trip with two sex crazed teenagers and try to teach them how to be better lovers but it was an interesting movie. Okay, so I'm stretching for a connection here. But the film is worth seeing if you can handle the sex and language (I give this warning because I got blasted once for recommending a movie in a sermon and not clarifying that it had rough language).
Don't know what I'll watch tonight. It is summer time and I haven't watched the Godfather trilogy yet. It is usually my ritual to welcome summer. That and Mr. Baseball, Field of Dreams, and Bull Durham. I'll let you know.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Project
It has been a fruitful week. I'm doing some really interesting reading on doing theology in the university and on religious activity generally in public life. I'll write more when I'm done my study weeks. Right now I'm trying to digest it all.
In the midst of all of this though I had another health crisis with Robbie. He developed an infected anal gland which probably burst inside. The vet shaved his posterior and he looked like one of those baboons with the purple bums. Poor little guy is now on 8 pills a day and I'm feeling frazzled. He's doing pretty well but oy!
More later! I'm going back to work!
In the midst of all of this though I had another health crisis with Robbie. He developed an infected anal gland which probably burst inside. The vet shaved his posterior and he looked like one of those baboons with the purple bums. Poor little guy is now on 8 pills a day and I'm feeling frazzled. He's doing pretty well but oy!
More later! I'm going back to work!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Golf Tournament
The golf tournament was a huge success! Fantastic weather (well maybe a little hot), a great silent auction, delicious food and the biggest crowd we've ever had. We honoured Mary Shillington as well for her 10 years service as the chair of the golf tournament committee. It was a grand day!
I'm starting two weeks of study leave and have a major project with a looming deadline so I may not be blogging much. So later 'gator!
I'm starting two weeks of study leave and have a major project with a looming deadline so I may not be blogging much. So later 'gator!
Friday, June 1, 2007
Wheels and Pup
Well my van is running beautifully and it was only $1000 more than we originally thought it would be...choke...but it is running beautifully and safely so alles gut. And best of all Robbie is doing really well, hardly coughing at all. It is amazing how that puts everything else in perspective.
Tomorrow is ECM's big fundraising golf tournament so I'm running around today getting some stuff ready for it. We have an amazing group of volunteers who have been working on it for months to get it all together and it should be a blast. My job is to bless the golfers on the first tee and take their team pictures. Best of all tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful sunny day.
If you get the chance be sure to check out this great video on how to select a new Primate for the Anglican Church in Canada. Preludium has the video uploaded on his blog but I'm dealing with dial up right now so just follow the link or check out his blog.
I'm not looking forward to the General Synod because I don't enjoy what's happening in the church right now. Mostly I want to keep focused on my parish life which is full of joy and good energy. I know these issues are important and that I should probably engage in them more but I also find they suck the life right out of me. I go through times when for the sake of my spiritual life I have to give up reading Anglican blogs. Working also for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada I'm getting a double dose of it and some of the Lutheran conversations I've been a part of have been even more unpleasant. So mostly I'm trying to do my own work faithfully and to love the people in my life faithfully and that's enough for me right now.
Tomorrow is ECM's big fundraising golf tournament so I'm running around today getting some stuff ready for it. We have an amazing group of volunteers who have been working on it for months to get it all together and it should be a blast. My job is to bless the golfers on the first tee and take their team pictures. Best of all tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful sunny day.
If you get the chance be sure to check out this great video on how to select a new Primate for the Anglican Church in Canada. Preludium has the video uploaded on his blog but I'm dealing with dial up right now so just follow the link or check out his blog.
I'm not looking forward to the General Synod because I don't enjoy what's happening in the church right now. Mostly I want to keep focused on my parish life which is full of joy and good energy. I know these issues are important and that I should probably engage in them more but I also find they suck the life right out of me. I go through times when for the sake of my spiritual life I have to give up reading Anglican blogs. Working also for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada I'm getting a double dose of it and some of the Lutheran conversations I've been a part of have been even more unpleasant. So mostly I'm trying to do my own work faithfully and to love the people in my life faithfully and that's enough for me right now.
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